Half of Millennials Have Delayed Health Care Treatment Due to Cost

New consumer health care research released by Xerox at HIMSS16 (booth #8005) shows Millennials (Gen Y, ages 18 to 34) are the most cost conscious generation when it comes to health care—with the majority of respondents listing cost as a top consideration when selecting a health care provider and 50% even delaying treatment due to cost.

When it comes to worrying about cost, Gen Xers (ages 35 to 49) are next up, with 59% listing cost as a top consideration in selecting a provider, whereas only 42% of Boomers (ages 50 to 68) and 39% of the Greatest Generation (age 69+) do. On delaying treatment, 45% of Gen Xers have, but only 39% of Boomers and 15% of the Greatest Generation have.

The study, conducted by Y&R's BAV Consulting on behalf of Xerox, surveyed 761 US adults who purchase health insurance and are health care decision makers for their households.

"The move to consumerism in health care is upon us," says Connie Harvey, chief operating officer of Healthcare Business Group at Xerox. "This data gives a glimpse at how consumers weigh cost in the health care decision making process—insight critical to guiding payers and providers as they look to transition to value-based care models."

By 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will require 50% of payments to be value-based, meaning providers are compensated for healthy outcomes rather than each service provided.

Help Needed
The research also examined what consumers need from their health care providers to make living a healthier lifestyle a priority—finding that Millennials need the most help (64%), followed by Gen Xers at 56%, the Greatest Generation at 49%, and Boomers at 47%.

The research also found the following:

Millennials (75%) and Gen Xers (71%) are more interested in having access to their EMRs, and believe this will allow them to be more conscious about lifestyle decisions affecting their health, vs 53% of the Greatest Generation and 57% of Boomers.

The majority of respondents in all generations want their pharmacists, health care providers, and health insurance companies to be more connected regarding their health, with 70% of Millennials, 69% of Gen Xers, 54% of Boomers, and 59% of the Greatest Generation agreeing.

"In order for the value-based care paradigm to work, payers and providers need consumers, especially Millennials, to take control of their own care, but clearly they need help getting there," Harvey continues.

A Solution
Through Xerox's Health Outcome Solutions offering—a full lifecycle population health management solution—providers immediately have access to a solution to address patient needs, critical in the transition to value-based care, via tools including the following:

Analytics that can assess patients at risk of readmission. Clinicians develop a health profile for each at-risk patient and outreach to those patients to encourage follow up appointments and to ensure they are filling prescriptions.

Clinical offerings including a 24/7 nurse line available for patients with nonemergency questions and access to health coaches who provide personalized patient engagement, including making sure patients are taking medicine as directed.